Aftershock
by thefurryofthedancingflames
Summary: Cloud and the gang decide to return to Kalm. There they discover another twist in the plot of Dr.Hojo's evil experiments. The poor possessed girl has no idea what hit her... or Cloud.
1. Return to Kalm

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Emily, Mia, and Jules. They are my brilliant masterpieces. **

**Note: You should know that this takes place right after Final Fantasy VII.**

The sun began to rise on a clear morning, but no one in Edge could see it. No Meteor hung in the sky, threatening the very fabric of the planet. It was no more. In the Eranda Inn in Edge, Cloud smiled to himself as he looked out the window. '_Beautiful, it was worth _it.' He rolled over on his other side and watched Tifa sleep. She looked truly happy for the first time since she went with Avalanche on their first mission. '_Poor Jessie, Wedge and Biggs. They'll never get to see what a beautiful place the world can be._' Cloud sighed and got out of bed. Nanaki was lying on the floor at the foot of the bed. Cait Sithe was sitting in a corner curled in a ball on top of his Moogle. He looked like he was sleeping but really he was turned off. '_Reeve must be doing something. Wish he would come out and meet us one of these days._' Cloud walked over to the window and looked outside. Vincent was sitting in the middle of the Inn's yard.

Cloud went outside and sat next to him.

"It's gone. She won't be there, will she?" Vincent turned to face him when he sat down.

"I don't think she ever was there," Cloud said after Vincent had explained that he had waited the whole week for Lucrecia before they set out to fight Sephiroth; when Cloud had wanted everyone to discover who they were fighting for.

"But I saw her. The time I was there before. And the basket…It was the one she was holding before…" Vincent didn't sound very convinced.

"I think you might have hallucinated the whole thing. I mean, it was so close to the end of the world. Maybe… you didn't want to think she was dead. You were gone for two hours," Cloud said not sure if he was helping or not.

"Two hours?" Vincent was confused.

"Yup, from the time you entered the woods to the time you came out it was about two hours. We were worried. We almost came in after you." Cloud told him.

"Two hours…No. I wasn't there for two hours…. Maybe it was a hallucination…Or maybe I just spent more time wandering around in the wood then I thought," Vincent was thinking out loud and wasn't making any sense to Cloud.

"Could be… Either way, she wasn't there when you spent almost a whole week sitting in that cave holding the basket of bread watching the water fall. What makes you think going back there now will bring her back?" Cloud knew his words hurt but he was only trying to help his friend.

"Maybe Meteor scared her. Maybe she went into hiding when it got too close," Vincent was holding onto the only hope he had left and wouldn't let go of it.

Cloud sighed. "What do you want to do now?" Cloud asked the former Turk.

"I… well…. Part of me wants to go back to the waterfall and find her. The other part wants to go back to Midgar and look after the people there. Then another part just wants to continue on with life as it is now."

Cloud didn't know what to say. After a moments thought he answered, "We can't continue on like this anymore. Sephiroth is gone. Meteor is destroyed. Jenova is gone as well. ShinRa no longer exists and the Turks… Well I don't know what happened to the Turks but what else is there to fight? Nothing. I think we should all return home and try to live a normal life. Maybe meet up with Reeve. You could always hibernate again. Or you could go to the waterfall and live there. I can't tell you what to do Vincent, I really can't. You need to follow your heart," Cloud didn't know if the whole hibernating thing was a serious suggestion or not.

"I have no idea. What are you going to do Cloud?" Vincent sighed and looked at the mercenary.

"I don't know either." It was an honest enough response.'_What am I going to do?_'

Cloud and Vincent sat there in the middle of the Inn's yard for some time before Cloud's stomach forced him back inside to find something to eat. In the front room of the Inn that served as a bar and a reception area, Tifa and Barret sat together at the bar drinking away merrily.

"Hey!" Cloud called as he came up behind them.

Tifa's eyes lit up when she saw Cloud. She had nothing to fear anymore. Every thing she had been scared of was gone. Now all she wanted was to be with Cloud. She didn't care where she was, just as long as she was with him.

" Hey Cloud! Wat'cha doin' up so early in the mornin'?" Barret asked as he took another swig of his beer, already half drunk.

"I was talking to Vincent." Cloud answered sitting in between the two.

"When I got up you weren't in the room so I came here and found Barret swigging away at his beers." Tifa looked at Cloud in concern. '_He should be happier… What's bothering him?_ Cloud laughed at that. Barret hadn't been drunk since the last time they were in the Seventh Heaven.

"Yeah well I woke up to the beautiful sun. Yuffie, Nanaki, Cid and Cait Sithe are still asleep?"

Barret hiccupped, then answered "Yup!"

"You're acting like Reno! Trying to get yourself drunk like that!" Cloud teased Barret.

"Yeah well I ain't no double crossin' bastard like that coward is!" Barret spat drunkenly then finished of his beer and swore at the bartender who wasn't fast enough in getting him the next one.

Tifa ignored Barret.

"So, Cloud where are we going to next?" Tifa asked Cloud.

"Probably Rocket Town or Cosmo Canyon. Maybe even North Corel." Cloud clearly had no idea but Tifa seemed to understand why. '_He doesn't want to leave any of his friends._'

"Hey guys!" Yuffie cried as she came into the bar room. Nanaki followed her.

"Hey!" Cloud waved and Tifa jumped off her chair and walked over to the girl.

"You guys are never going to believe what I just thought of!" Yuffie said mysteriously as she walked past Tifa to stand beside Cloud.

"She kept bugging me with her theory that I finally told her to come tell you guys." Nanaki joked as he sat on his haunches beside Cloud. Barret hiccupped a couple more times and finished off another beer. He quickly got another then turned to Yuffie.

"What the hell are you so excited about?" He asked the teenager.

"Well, I was thinking that since we've been to all kinds of different places because of our…" She paused searching for the word to describe their travels. "Our… Mission I was thinking we could return to Kalm! You know to enjoy it a bit. It's a very pretty town!" Yuffie seemed satisfied with the idea considering that they did say they would return to some of the places they visited to enjoy their beauty once more.

"I think it's a lovely idea!" Tifa exclaimed now as excited as the teenager. She turned to Cloud. "What do you think?"

"I think it's a good idea… We just need to get Cid to agree to let us use the Highwind to travel around." His words made sense and they made Yuffie screech with delight.

"Sounds like a fuckin' plan to me!" Cid had entered the bar and heard Yuffie explain her plan to the guys.

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Cait Sithe, who was right behind him.

"Good. Then we all agree that we should travel to Kalm?" Cloud asked everyone around him. They nodded and murmured in agreement. "Good. Let's go ask Vincent." Cloud left the bar and went back outside where Vincent still sat staring at the sky.

"Vincent?" Cloud asked coming up behind the man.

"Yeah?" Vincent answered turning around to see his friends behind Cloud.

"We were thinking of going back to Kalm. Do you want to come with?" Cloud asked nervously.

"I knew you would come up with something to do… Let's go!" Vincent seemed all too eager to leave the Inn so everyone agreed. They gathered up their stuff, paid their bill, and hopped on board the Highwind.

"Let's go to Kalm." Yuffie cried excitedly.

Cid got the Highwind going in that direction and Yuffie nearly passed out with her motion sickness.

The Highwind landed in a field just outside the town. They really had no idea what they wanted to do there, so when they entered the town they wandered its streets. Yuffie was instantly intrigued by the tallest building in the town. It was a four story building that had a beautiful garden in front yard. The front half of the building was open and supported by pillars. Yuffie giggled and wandered through the garden. It was filled with beautiful flowers. Almost as beautiful as the flower Cloud had bought from Aeris when he first met her. No flower could ever be as beautiful as those who grew in the church in Midgar. There were several statues in the garden as well. They were of various people and creatures. One even looked like Nanaki.

"This statue has a very good likeness." Nanaki commented looking up at the one that was like him. It looked like him in every way except it was stone.

"Let's see what's inside!" Yuffie exclaimed walking in between two pillars to go inside. The rest of the group shrugged and followed her into the building.

In the building there were some potted plants and hallways that led deeper into the building. There was a staircase that led up to the next floor. In the middle of the room there was a large mat. Three girls stood on it sparing with each other. There was a pile of swords, shoes and belts beside the mat. They obviously belonged to the girls who were just using there fists and feet to hit each other. Cloud coughed to catch their attention.

They looked startled as they stopped in mid-attack and looked at the group who had just entered the building. They dropped each other's hands and feet and walked off the mat. They were barefoot.

"Welcome to the Untag" Said the first of the three. They stood in a line at the edge of the mat and bowed at them. "I am Emily," she continued. She had light brown hair and tanned skin. The girls didn't look to be more than nineteen.

"The Untag?" Yuffie asked confused. She had never heard of it.

"The Untag is a hotel." The second girl explained. She had extremely dark brown hair and was paler in skin tone than her friend. "I am Mia"

"I'm Jules," explained the third. She had brown hair but it was slightly darker than Emily's. She wasn't extremely tanned but she wasn't pale either.

"Do you mind if we look around?" Yuffie asked excited.

"That depends!" said a new voice, "Do you plan on staying?" Reno came out of the shadows of the back of the room. Rude was close behind him. They were also barefoot.

"Reno!?" Cloud was stunned to see the Turk here.

"Yes, that's me." Reno replied rather bluntly.

"You two know each other?" Emily asked confused.

"In more ways than one," Reno answered for Cloud. "What are you doing here Cloud?" Reno asked.

"Cloud!?" Emily stared at Cloud in horror. She began backing away from the group. Her friends looked at her with worried expressions on their faces.

"You should leave." Rude said in a firm voice. Reno went over to Emily and grabbed her arms. She began to shake violently. "Not again!" He exclaimed.

"What? Why?" Tifa asked surprised. Emily looked at Cloud again. He thought he noticed that her eyes glowed, like his, from being exposed to Mako. Her breathing wasn't regular anymore, it was fast, short gasps for air.

"It's a long story but you aren't safe here," Mia replied she looked at Emily again who was violently trying to break away from Reno.

"You will die Cloud!" Here, Emily broke out into manic laughter, "You killed me before you won't be able to do it again!" Emily then cried. But it wasn't her voice it was someone else's… Someone male.

" What!? I've never met you before in my life!" Cloud said stunned at the girl's threat. She broke away from Reno and ran to the pile of swords. She picked one up and began walking towards Cloud. She was crying.

Cloud drew his sword on instinct.

Reno ran to grab Emily again but missed as she went after Cloud.

"Emily snap out of it! I know you're in there!" Jules frantically ran over to her friend and stood in front of her.

"Get out of my way" Emily growled. The male voice was still coming out of her mouth. She pushed Jules aside who fell onto the floor. Tifa jumped into the air to kick Emily's sword out of her hand but Emily merely sidestepped her. Everyone was stunned. The only person who had ever managed to do that was Sephiroth.

Emily ran towards Cloud with insane speed and raised her sword to strike. Cloud raised his as well. The two swords hit each other. Emily and Cloud both tried to overpower each other. Finally, Cloud flicked his sword to the side sending Emily and her sword flying. She hit the ground with a thump. Her sword landed beside her. She looked at in disgust and threw it away from her. Her body then began to shake again. Reno rushed over to hold onto to her again.

"The hell was that?" Barret asked.

Rude shrugged and walked over to Emily. She was holding her head as if it hurt badly. Emily's breathing came in short gasps.

"I….am…so…sorry" She fought to get the words out. It was her voice again.

"It's alright. What happened?" Cloud walked over and kneeled beside Reno.

"My brother…. Is very angry with both…. You and me," Emily was still struggling with whatever her problem was.

"Your brother?" Cloud asked, confused.

"Yes my brother…. He's dead now…. You killed him didn't you?" Emily looked at Cloud, she was crying. Cloud looked at her very sympathetically. He was sure now that her eyes glowed of Mako but she didn't possess the strength to have been in SOLDIER, he could tell from their fight. Emily's body began to shake again. Reno tightened his grip on her arms to keep her from rolling away.

"Who was your brother?" Cloud asked.

Emily didn't answer. She didn't get the chance. She was lying on the ground beside Cloud. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, then her body gave a final violent shake and she closed her eyes. She was unconscious.

Reno lifted her up in his arms and carried her down one of the hallways.

"I guess we owe you an explanation." Jules said. She stood up rubbing her backside.

"What the fuck was that girl's problem?" Cid asked.

"You should sit with us in the dining room. It'll take a while to explain." Mia offered coming up behind her friend.

"You can eat with us." Rude grumbled.

Cloud looked at the others who nodded.

"Alright, lead the way." Cloud told Jules.


	2. Emily

Jules led them into a large dining room. There were several tables in the room and big buffet along one side. Jules walked past the buffet to the other side of the room. She opened a door and stepped into a conference room. It had a big long wooden table that could sit twenty people. Everyone sat around the table. The two chairs on the end were left empty.

"I guess you should know that Emily's brother is Sephiroth" Jules said right away.

"What the fuck? Since when did he have a fuckin' sister?" Cid asked shocked at the news.

"Since nineteen years ago when Emily was born" Mia said matter of factly.

"So, Dr. Hojo had another kid?" Tifa asked.

"Yes, but he didn't raise her. A short while after she was born Lucrecia died." Mia continued. Vincent winced at the idea.'_Maybe she never was there…_'

"You're sure she died? And that her death wasn't just a cover up for something?" Cait Sithe asked. Mia looked at the cat. He had gotten off his Moogle to sit on a chair at the table.

"We're sure she's dead. My mother went to her funeral. She saw the dead body. She's dead." Mia said. Vincent was shocked. '_What did I see then?_'

"So, after she died Dr.Hojo was desperate for another subject for his experiments. He used Emily. He showered her in Mako like they do with SOLDIER people. He had no more Jenova cells left so he injected her with different DNA specimens. We're not sure exactly what he was trying to do but whatever it was it didn't work. After that he didn't want Emily anymore. So he dumped her here in Kalm. Where my mother found her and raised her for the rest of her life." Cloud could see that it was painful to remember that day,

"How old was she when you found her?" Yuffie asked curiously.

"Seven. I was eight. She was crying in the alley way behind our house. When my mom found Emily she was half starved never mind sane." Mia told them.

"She wasn't sane?" Tifa asked stunned.

"Whatever Dr. Hojo had injected her with confused her so much it took us three weeks to get her name out of her. In the middle of the night she would get up and wander the streets. Once she almost stabbed herself. We had to lock her in the room we gave her so she didn't get hurt. Eventually, she became normal again. She was able to tell us everything about her. The countless needles, the Mako shower, everything she could remember. She had a picture with her. It was of her and her parents. My mom recognized them right away. We decided not to tell anyone," Mia stopped. She had started to cry. Obviously, the story was painful for her so Jules continued.

"I was Mia's best friend. We hung out all the time and we even played with Emily. We all became close. We grew up best friends. It was almost as if we were sisters. Emily was fine for years and years, up until about a month ago." Jules stopped when Reno came in.

"She's in her room." He stated and sat down at one of the end chairs.

"Is she going to be okay?" Yuffie asked nervously.

"She'll be fine." Reno replied.

"A month ago, we were baking and she suddenly fell to the ground and started shaking and saying something about a Reunion. When she stopped she became unconscious. She was out for about a week. When she awoke she was scared out of her mind." Jules looked at Reno who nodded and picked up the story.

"I grew up around here with Rude and the girls. So we've been friends forever. I've never seen her do that before. So she told us all about her dream. She was in the middle of a forest. But it was just trees without leaves or anything, and there was this thick fog that hung around the trees. Emily told us that she could see something moving in the fog. It came towards her and then stopped. He didn't tell her his name but she knew it was Sephiroth. She said that he told her this:

"My little sister it is time. Our mother will once again be the Calamity of the Skies and we will rule together," She had no idea what he was talking about. She told him she had no brother and that her mother had died a long time ago.

"Believe what you wish but we will become invincible together." Sephiroth told her. Emily was confused.

"Invincible? That's not possible" she told him.

"Ah but it is. You will find me at the Reunion. Come to it. We will be together," then he just faded into the fog." Reno paused and looked at the table.

"She was so scared that she refused to get out of bed. We managed to convince her everything was alright. Then Sephiroth came here in person. I wasn't here at the time but Rude was." Reno looked at Rude. Rude sighed.

"Yeah I was here. He just walked right in and took Emily by the arm and told her she was coming to Reunion with him. She managed to pull away and tell him she wasn't going anywhere. He glared at her before he pulled out his Masamune and almost killed her. But the blade missed her chest and only hit her leg. When he saw that he disappeared. She was in so much pain the doctors gave her sedatives until it healed a bit. When she woke she said that her brother had come back again talking about this Reunion. She couldn't walk for a couple of days. But when she did walk her brother took over her mind like he did just now. He was mad at her for not going to the Reunion because she would never make it in time." Rude stopped. The whole story was obviously a painful one for them to tell, but he continued.

"Whenever he tried to take over her mind she would shake and breathe funny like she did just now. We don't really know what he wants of her, but he kept trying to use her to find you. She almost made it out of town, too."

"So he was trying to kill Cloud with his little sister's body?" Tifa asked slowly.

"Yeah, but whenever she got like that we would lock her in her room and then he would go away. But he came back later. That's why when you came in and she learned that you were Cloud she knew Sephiroth would come back. We all did." Rude stopped. It was the end of their story.

"How can we stop him from coming back?" Cloud asked.

"We have no idea," Rude said.

"Poor girl," Nanaki mumbled.

Mia had stopped crying and looked at the group of travelers. "You are welcome to stay if you like."

The group looked at each other, uncertain about what to do.

"We'll leave you alone. You can talk about it. We'll go check on her." Jules said. Reno, Rude, Jules, and Mia got up from the table and left.

"Should we stay?" Cait Sithe asked.

"I think we should," Cloud said.

"Are you out of your fuckin' minds? Why would we stay here? She already tried to fuckin' kill you!" Cid yelled.

"I know. But we should try and help her. I mean it's Sephiroth. It's not fun fighting him alone." Cloud said.

"She's not alone! She's got her friends. It's none of our fuckin' business!" Cid swore.

"Yes it is. It's mine if she's trying to kill me!" Cloud yelled back.

"Helping her is the right thing to do," Nanaki stated. "We're staying."

Cid swore under his breath but didn't object.

Reno walked back in the room.

"Emily wants to see you guys." He told them.

"But what if she tries to kill Cloud again?" Yuffie asked.

"We'll be there to stop her," Reno said.

"You are tryin' ta tell us that the girl who tried to kill Cloud wants ta see us?" Barret asked.

"Yes. Are you coming?" Reno asked.

"We'll come." Tifa answered.

"Follow me," Reno turned and left the room. Everyone got up and followed. Cait Sithe got back on his Moogle and urged it forward. Reno led them into a hall and up some stairs then to a door. He stopped in front of it.

"This is her room," He turned to the group. "You can go in." He opened the door to let them in. Cloud went in first. The rest hesitated but Yuffie went in after him and the rest followed. Reno went in last and shut the door.

Emily was lying on her bed on top of the blankets Mia sat on her right and Jules on her left. Rude was leaning against the wall opposite the bed. Reno went over and sat on the bed next to Emily.

"Hey, kiddo!" Cloud went over and stood beside Mia.

"Hi," Emily answered. Her voice sounded tired. "Look, I'm sorry about before, I-"

"It's okay. You didn't mean to." Cloud told her softly.

"Thanks," She mumbled.

"So you were basically possessed?" asked Cait Sithe.

"I guess so," Emily answered.

"Isn't there a way to stop him?" Tifa asked.

"I doubt it. You remember how he made me give him the black materia? There was nothing I could do." Cloud looked at Tifa.

"He should have joined the Lifestream. I don't think spirits can come back out can they?" Cait Sithe asked no one in particular.

"They can't. But they can stay on the planet if they have unsettled business or are strong enough to fight the Lifestream." Nanaki explained.

"That's unfortunate," Emily said bluntly staring at the ceiling. She began to shake.

"Back off, Cloud," Reno told Cloud. Cloud fumbled backwards to the back of the room. Everyone positioned themselves in between the bed and Cloud. Reno grabbed a hold of Emily's arms and held them on the bed. She opened her eyes and looked into his.

"Let go of me," It was Sephiroth's voice coming out her.

"No," Reno said firmly.

"Why don't you leave your sister alone?" Tifa asked boldly coming forward to stand where Cloud was before.

Emily ignored her. "Where's Cloud?" She demanded.

"Not here." Reno told her.

"Get lost!" It was Emily's voice again.

"Never!" It was Sephiroth's.

"Why are you doing this?" Emily's voice demanded.

"Because you are my sister. I have a link to you I share with no one else. It's the only way for revenge." Sephiroth's voice hissed.

There was a pause as Emily's body shook.

"Revenge isn't what you think it is! Now get out of here!" Emily yelled.

"Never," Sephiroth said.

Reno was staring down at Emily. Her face was the palest he had ever seen it. '_Come on Emily you can do it!_'

"What if something happens to me? Then you would have no link to this world!" Emily's voice was only a whisper. It was getting harder for her to talk.

"I'll make sure nothing happens to you! Besides, I'll leave you alone if you'll let me kill Cloud!" Sephiroth's voice was getting louder. Emily was losing whatever battle they were having.

"Never! I'll die before that happens!" Emily said defiantly.

"I told you! You won't die!" Sephiroth yelled.

"Watch me!" Emily said.

"Never will happen," Sephiroth spat back.

"Stop it!" Nanaki jumped on top Emily and sat on her chest.

"You had better listen to me Sephiroth, you do anything to hurt this girl or Cloud I'll personally come in there after you!" He hissed into Emily's face.

"That'll never happen. You'd have to die before you can possess someone." Sephiroth retorted.

"That's what you think!" Nanaki's body went limp and Emily's shook violently again.

"What did I tell you?! I could possess anyone I want and still live!" Nanaki's voice shouted through Emily's mouth.

"I'm still more powerful!" Sephiroth spat. Emily's body rolled over off the bed tripping Reno. She stood up. "You can't stop Sephiroth!"

"Nanaki get out!" Emily's voice commanded weakly.

"But I-" Nanaki's voice objected.

"Now!" Emily screamed. Nanaki's body jumped back to life.

"I'm out Emily." He said turning to the girl.

"Good," Emily forced herself to walk over to the door and open it. "Good-Bye," She mumbled as she walked down the hall.

"No go back! Listen to me, damn it, go back!" Sephiroth's voice yelled.

Everyone raced from the room to watch Emily walk down the hall.

"No!" Emily yelled. She came to the staircase that lead downstairs. She turned around and looked at the group. She looked at Reno with tears in her eyes.

"No, Emily! Please!" He raced forward, he knew what she was doing. But he was too late, Emily turned and threw herself down the stairs.


	3. Down she goes

"Emily!" Reno cried and ran down the stairs after her.

"Oh my god!" Tifa followed him down the stairs.

"That girl is a fucken' lunatic." Cid swore and lit a cigarette. He followed the rest of the group down the stairs.

Emily had landed at the bottom of the stairs. Her head was bleeding slightly from a gash above her right eye. Reno and Tifa were leaning over her.

"She's breathing!" Tifa cried looking at the girl.

"She has some fucken' issues to work out." Cid said puffing on his cigarette.

"The hell?" Barret stared at the girl. "She's alive. Now that's a miracle if I eva saw one!"

Reno looked down at Emily. The right side of her face was covered in blood. Her own blood.

"We should get her some bandages." Cloud said looking at the girl, surprised.

"Yeah…" Reno wasn't focused on the present. He should be but he wasn't.

_-Flashback-_

"_Reno!" Emily yelled running through the field after him. "Give it back!"_

"_No!" He ran on laughing as he clutched the necklace. Emily chased him around the field until she finally caught up with him._

"_Give it now!" She demanded laughing._

"_I don't think so" He held the necklace about her head and dangled it there. _

"_Oh come on!" She jumped trying to grab it but missed and landed on top of Reno. They rolled over in a fit of giggles. "Hand it over!" She reached for his hand that held in the necklace._

"_You can't have it!" Reno yelled laughing as he held his hand out of reach._

"_You gave it to me!" Emily cried trying to reach it. "This is stupid" She rolled off him and sat staring at him. "Fine, keep it."_

_He couldn't stop laughing. "Here… you can have it back now." He handed it over._

"_Thank you." She took the necklace from him and put it back around her neck._

"_It's a terrible picture. Can you at least put another one in?" Reno begged, sitting up._

"_No." Emily stated opening the heart shaped locket._

"_Why not?" Reno asked._

"_Because you're so cute when you're about to explode." Emily said looking at the picture. It was a picture of Reno whose face was red. The reason was forgotten but someone had taken a picture and Emily found it and loved it so much she put it in her locket._

"_Gee thanks." Reno turned to her. "I should really get a terrible picture of you and put it in my locket." _

"_You don't have a locket." She teased._

"_I could always get one." He said._

"_Like that'll ever happen."_

_-End Flashback-_

Reno looked at the locket now. _I wonder if it's still me._ He leaned over and held the locket in between his fingers and opened it. It was still the picture of him. He sighed with relief.

"Here!" Cloud and Jules walked in from one of the halls holding some bandages. Reno took them from Cloud and began to wrap Emily's head in them. He finished wrapping the wound in the bandages.

"R…Reno?" Emily's feeble voice came out of her mouth.

"Emily!" Reno exclaimed relieved to see her conscious. Everyone leaned forward and looked at her. She smiled.

"I…" She was going to say something but Reno interrupted her.

"Shh! Don't talk. Save your strength, we'll talk later." Emily smiled. Reno picked her up and carried her back upstairs to her room. Everyone followed slowly. Reno laid her on the bed in her room and sat beside her looking down at her.

"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done." He scolded.

"What the fuck were you thinking? Throwing yourself down the fucken' staircase you could have fucken' died! You're a fucken' lunatic!" Cid yelled he sat in a chair in the corner and smoked like a chimney.

"Don't swear at her like that! Have you ever been possessed by some freaky spirit trying to use you to kill someone? I don't think so!" Tifa said defensively.

"Don't do that again alright?" Reno told Emily.

"Alright." Emily smiled again.

"You should rest. Did you hurt anything when you fell?" Jules asked stepping forward.

"No… Just my head." Emily touched the bandages on her head.

"Alright…We'll leave then." Reno stood up and looked at everyone else. They looked back at him, reluctant to leave, but they slowly filed out of the room. Emily reached for Reno's hand after everyone left.

"Stay, please?" She begged.

"Okay." He walked over and shut the door behind everyone.

OOOOO

"You can stay the night if you wish." Mia told the group as she led them back into the main lobby.

"I think we should." Nanaki said.

"I agree. To be honest Emily really scared me there. We should make sure she's okay before we go anywhere." Cait Sithe added.

"We will stay then." Cloud told her.

"Very well, we'll show you to your rooms." Jules led them each to a different room on the same hallway.

OOOOO

"You scared me today." Reno told Emily, sitting on the bed beside her.

"I'm sorry" Emily looked at Reno. "I know you looked in my locket."

"Oh, I didn't realize you…" Reno was embarrassed she had seen him looking.

"It's okay. I thought you might try to steal the picture again." She laughed.

"No, I guess I should let it slide that you want me next to your heart." Reno looked at her smiling at him. He couldn't help but laugh to.

"Who said I don't keep it there to laugh at you?" Emily teased.

"You wouldn't dare!" Reno looked at her harshly.

"You're right it's too mean" Emily smiled. She shifted on the bed, her neck was getting sore.

"Are you okay?" Reno looked concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine." Emily lied. She didn't want Reno to worry about her.

"That's good." Reno seemed satisfied with the answer. "It's kind of late. You should probably get some sleep."

"You sound like you could be my father!" She said playfully.

"You should! That head injury won't get better without it." He looked at her again. His words weren't even heard. She had already fallen asleep. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Sleep tight" He pulled an extra blanket off the chair beside him and pulled it over her. He quietly crept out the door and down the hall to his room, all with a smile on his face.

**I would like to thank The Flurry Of Dancing Flames for being my editor and helping me through a severe case of the dreaded writers block!**


	4. Hotel manager

Vincent stared out the window at the rain that pattered at the window. _She was there! She's not dead! I'm going back to the waterfall! Maybe Emily would want to come with me. She is her mother after all._

"Hey Vincent!" Cloud walked into his room. Vincent turned around to look at the mercenary.

" Hey Cloud, What's up?" Vincent asked. Cloud looked puzzled.

" I was thinking about what you said. You know about seeing Lucrecia and all… maybe it would be good for you to show Emily the waterfall…There might be a chance that she is there."

" I would love to do that." Vincent brightened at the thought. "I'm going to go tell her!" he got out of his chair and practically bounced out the room and down the hall.

OOOOO

" Good morning Reno." Emily said sleepily rubbing the sleep from her eyes

" It's raining." Reno told her.

" I can see that." Emily looked Reno and smile. "I'm not blind or death" She said pointedly.

" Yeah well whatever!" he shrugged. Vincent burst into the room,

" Hey Emily guess what!?" He yelled to excited for his own good.

" What!?" She said in mock excitement. Reno giggled behind his hand.

" I want to take you to the waterfall where I used to meet Lucrecia when we were kids! And since she was your mother I thought you might want to come! The time before last I was there I saw her! Maybe if you come you can see her to!" Vincent blurted out. Reno looked shocked at the idea.

"You want to go now?" Emily asked half serious.

" Well… I…Uhmm…" Vincent stumbled over his words he hadn't that part through yet. "We would have to take the Highwind and Cid would have to fly us there…"

"She can't go any where yet… Her head isn't healed right" Reno cut in.

"I'm perfectly fine!" Emily stood up but got light headed and had to sit back down again. "Okay maybe you're right"

"I know I'm right." Reno went over and sat beside her. "We'll have to wait."

"Alright, we'll wait. In the mean time I'll go talk to Cid." Vincent left the room.

" Don't get your hopes up… he might be mad" Reno told Emily. "I've never seen a grown man act like that"

"Yeah I know. It'll be fun though. You know… maybe he isn't maybe Hogo so brilliantly mastered some dummy to look like Lucrecia and claim she's dead to cover up for something." Emily smiled at Reno.

"Yeah I know but what was he covering up that he killed someone who isn't dead? I mean I know ShinRa did that all the time to cover their asses for something that went wrong but what went wrong that Hogo killed his wife? What would he gain? You know, this might involve you… You sure you want to do this?" Reno asked worried.

" Duh, I mean if I don't I'll regret for the rest of my life but when I do… I don't know… I mean there's this big gap in my childhood. The first thing I remember is the first day of school when I was twelve! I can't remember anything else. It's like this hole there. My mother would know what would be there,,, If she's not there then to bad I move on but if she's there I could finally have some sense of what happened in the lab… " Emily sighed. "I grew up with people that aren't even my family. I mean we've been close since like ever Reno, and you don't even remember anything before then. Isn't that odd? I mean you would have been in the eighth grade! You should remember more than the first day of school. I mean Mia, Rude and Jules can't remember anything either. The only person who can actually remember what happened before then is Mia's mom. Why? We were all there together before then so why can't remember more than seventh grade?" Emily asked.

" I know… I think something happened… to us… like as a group… I have no clue what though… A lot of people have gaps in their memories. Who knows what happened? Maybe we all fell off the monkey bars at the park and hit our heads. Or maybe we just can't remember because nothing exciting happened…" Reno looked at Emily who was frowning. " I think you're right… Something probably happened that's bigger than anything we could think of. It's all so confusing."

" That's why I need to go alone with Vincent to the waterfall on the Highwind." Emily said firmly.

" Alone? Are you mad! For all I know you could be eaten by cannibals! Or you could drown in the waterfall and Vincent could be dragged under trying to save you! Or maybe your mother will convince you to stay with her in the middle of nowhere where I'll never see you again!" Reno argued dead set against Emily going alone.

" You're going insane Reno! Calm down! I'd never go anywhere without you knowing where I am." Emily told him.

"Good. Besides, You are not going alone. I'm going with you if you like it or not. It's my past to Emily. Rude, Mia and Jules should come to. Something happened and your mom probably knows what. " Reno tried to convince Emily.

"What makes you think they want to come?" Emily demanded.

" They have a hole to Emily." Reno pointed out." We all do." Emily sighed.

"I guess you're right. Now let's go down stairs and talk to the rest of the gang." Emily slowly sat up and with Reno's help stood and walked down the stairs to the room where everyone was. They looked at her leaning on Reno for support when she came in.

" Well, look who the fuck it is!" Cid said sourly smoking on his cigarette.

" You gonna be okay?" Cait Sithe asked from his chair.

"Yeah I'll be fine, just have to get my strength back up again" Emily told him with a weak smile. The two end chairs were still empty so Emily sat at one and Reno took the other.

" So, Vincent told us he might take you to see the waterfall where he 'saw' Lucrecia. Can we go with yous?" Rude asked. Emily sighed.

"I suppose you could… I mean you Mia and Jules." She flinched when Cid looked at her. _Can't he lighten up? What the hell is his problem?_

"You plan on going to the fucken' waterfall without me?" He demanded.

" Yeah Cid, that's exactly what we were thinking!" Reno said sarcastically.

" You mean you don't want us to go with you?" Yuffie asked hurt.

" The hell? You want ta go ta the place where Vincent saw Lucrecia without us? The hell! Sure damn as hell your not!" Barret objected. Emily rolled her eyes at Reno who laughed.

" It's not funny Reno we should go to you know." Yuffie shot and Reno.

"I'm sorry." Reno said to be polite but his words meant nothing but Yuffie smiled and turned to Emily.

"Why don't you want us to go with you?"

" It's just…" Emily sighed and looked at Mia, Mia turned at looked at Jules who looked at Reno, he looked at Rude and Rude nodded.

"The hell was that?" Barret demanded." Some secret code?" Reno laughed and Mia smiled.

" It's okay Emily." Jules reassured her.

"Another painful story?" Cait Sithe asked. He got off the chair he was on and went to sit back comfortably on his Moogle that was parked behind his chair.

" We told you the story of Emily's past by what Mia's mother told us a little later. When we were like thirteen or fourteen. " Rude said.

"So? What does that have to do with anything?" Cait Sithe demanded. Yuffie leaned over and hit the side of his head. " That was pointless and you know it!" He shot at her.

"I know, It's still fun though" Yuffie leaned back in her chair and smiled evilly at Cait Sithe. He sighed and turned away from her.

" The point is Jules and Mia were six Rude and Reno were seven when they found me. They have no memory what so ever of any of it. I don't either. The first thing we remember is the first day of school in September when I was in grade seven with Jules and Mia." Emily said flatly.

" The hell has that got to do with the Lucrecia?" Barret demanded.

" Lucrecia should know what happened." Reno answered Barret.

" Know that what happened?" Tifa asked. She was very confused.

" Know what happened in the six or seven years that I lived with Mia before the seventh grade." Emily said.

" You mean you have no memory of your first thirteen or so years?" Cloud asked.

" Yeah pretty much." Rude said.

" That's fucken insane! How the fuck did that happen?" Cid asked.

" We have no clue. That' why we were hoping Lucrecia could tell us." Mia said.

" But Lucrecia was 'dead' when this all happened, what makes you think she'll know?" Cloud asked.

" She's the best thing we have." Emily said.

" Well what about Reno's parents? Or Rude's? or Mia's? or Jules'?" Cloud asked "Wouldn't they know what happened?" Cloud asked.

Mia bit her lip, tears stung at Jules eyes, Rude looked at Reno, and Emily looked shocked.

" They were dead when we got back from school that day we remember" Emily said sadly.

" All of them?" Cloud asked stunned.

" That's what she said! Someone killed them. Poisoned actually… their tea." Rude said.

"I had no idea" Cloud said.

" This is why we want to know about our past, something happened, something big." Mia said.

" I see… this still doesn't explain why you don't want us to go with you." Cloud said.

" Because," Vincent spoke "Lucrecia will talk to people she knows."

" But Lucrecia never met Rude, Reno, Mia or Jules!" Tifa said.

" That's not entirely true." Vincent said. Everyone looked at him shocked. "She did meet them, once."

"What? How would you know?" Reno demanded.

" I was there." Vincent said.

" You were what?" Rude asked.

" I was there. It was once at a park that wasn't to far from here but is gone now. I was there with Lucrecia. You guys were playing some game. Lucracia recognized Emily and walked over. You didn't recognize her but talked to her anyway. You all did. Then we left and she was all happy because she saw her daughter. But she disappeared a day later." Vincent said.

" We have to go _now_." Emily pushed.

" What do you mean!?" Reno said standing on his feet. "Are you insane? You can barely walk!"

" I can walk just fine with someone's help and most of the journey will be on the Highwind anyway. Besides, she's in danger. I can sense it. " Emily said looking Reno right in the eye. He sighed at sat back down. "You can come with." Emily said looking at Cloud.

" We can?" Clous asked.

" Yes, I think it would be wise." Emily said.

" Well spoken young one." Nanaki said. Emily smiled at him.

" Well let's get a fucken move on then! I have things to do, people to see before the Highwind is going anywhere!" Cid got up and started yelling for his crew that came scurrying in from the other room. He began telling them to get this, or that ready as he headed straight for the garden.

" But who's going to watch the hotel if we leave?" Jules asked.

" Your brother." Rude told her.

" Are you mad? He'll destroy the place!" Jules yelled at him.

" Kind of the point." He got up and followed Cid. Reno walked over and gave Emily a hand getting up. Everyone else followed slowly through the streets of Kalm as Emily struggled to walk even with Reno's help. They all finally managed to get to the Highwind in one piece.


	5. Return to the Waterfall

Yuffie was sitting in the corner of the helicopter trying not to be sick.

" You know where it is Vincent?" Cloud asked.

" Yeah, we're going the right the way." Vincent said staring out the window at the clear sky.

The ride to the forest where the rain forest was located was silent and awkward. Everyone was in his or her own place focussing on one thing or another.

" Vincent! Get the fuck over here!" Cid yelled from the front. Vincent got up and walked to the front in silence.

"What?" Vincent demanded.

" Where the fuck are we suppose to land?" Cid demanded gesturing to the ground below, it was covered in trees.

" We're close." Vincent said to no one in particular.

" No fucken' shit Sherlock" Cid said very irritated. " We can't land in the fucken' trees!"

" Go North. There's a field we can land in." Vincent responded calmly. _I'm coming… Lucrecia I'm coming…_ Vincent swore as he turned the helicopter to their right and slowly began to descend. The Highwind landed with a thump.

Nanaki –who had been sleeping in the corner- woke with a start and followed the rest of the group off the Highwind. They stood in a group staring into the forest. Reno made a noise in his throat to draw Vincent's attention.

" Oh, Right! Follow me." Vincent said snapping out of his trance. He led them into the forest. The group walked in silence, jumping at every noise that the forest made. The trees were growing thicker and the air darker. Vincent stopped and Reno walked into his back.

" What are…" Reno began but Vincent put a hand in his face

" Shhh!" Vincent stared hard into the darkness everyone else exchanged looks of apprehension and curiosity.

_It's around here somewhere…_ Vincent suddenly took of at a run. Everyone ran after him. It was getting harder to move forward because the trees were so thick and the undergrowth was up to their waists. Only Nanaki managed without getting tangled in the bushes. Vincent was so intent on getting where he was going he almost ran into a tree.

" Fuck!" Cid swore loudly and bounded after him raising his knees un-naturally high. Vincent kept running and everyone followed. Suddenly the trees stopped and Vincent ran straight into a flat green valley surrounded by mountains.

" What the fuck is this?" Cid panted coming up behind him.

" Is tis da place you were talkin' about?" Berret asked.

Vincent didn't answer them but stared around wildly. _I was never here…Where am I?_ Vincent franticly spun in a circle trying to decide which way to go, he looked back at the group that was behind him struggling to catch their breath and took off to his right. At first no one moved but then Vincent was to far from them so they ran after him.

If that mountain is " Keyhole point" then that one over there is " Dead man's drop" that means the water fall is north of here which is this way and if I'm right the waterfall should be just over this hill.

Vincent stopped at the top of the hill and stared down happily. Reno and Emily came up behind him first and followed his gaze down the hill.

There walking among the rocks on the edge of the water was Lucrecia.

**Sorry it took my so long! I had bad writers block and a bit of it was done late at night so excuse the typos.**


End file.
